Congress faces desertions ahead of Captain visit

With two days to go for the visit of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Captain Amarinder Singh to Majitha, the party's district rural vice-president, Nanak Singh, joined the Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday. More than 300 families have also been reported to have shifted loyalties from the Congress to the SAD.

Other new entrants to the SAD fold include former president of Majitha Block Congress Committee, Durga Dass Patwari.

Cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia welcomed the new entrants at a function at the local grain market. He claimed that the Congress had been reduced to just a token presence in Punjab.

"Congress is known to have adopted anti-people policies. The process of its decimation in Majha hhas already begun," he said.

He added the Congress leaders who were making such a show of protests over the new taxes must also ask for a loan waiver package for farmers from the UPA government with the same vigour.

He alleged that the Congress had failed to raise the real issues of farmers like relief for delayed rainfall and increased share in Central taxes.

He added that it was ironical to see Captain Amarinder Singh, whose party has 44 MLAs, trying to garner support from Sanjha Morcha, which, he said, has been completely rejected by the people and has no MLA at all.

"If Amarinder is short of supporters, then I along with all the members of my party will support him, but Amarinder Singh first needs to clean his glasses and look into the real problem of masses. Let him protest against corruption, inflation, multi-crore scams and anti-people policies. Then, we and the people of Punjab will support his protests."